"It
is our intent to motivate children to "dare to dream" and to offer this
book as a form of encouragement; putting it in as many children's hands
as possible." ~ Carol Butler

NOW, WHAT DO YOU DARE TO DREAM? . . .What a great pleasure to meet 10 year old Dallas and his grandparents while shopping at Costco. He was one of the students attending Lincoln Elementary School when we made a visit there to read our book. Today when I asked him, "Now, what do you dare to dream?" he said, "I want to be a paleontologist!" His grandmother says he loves to read and I bet when he grows up he will surely be digging in the dirt looking for dinosaurs! ~ Carol Butler

Genois Wilson, Firefighter:
She Dared to be First

“My children were so inspired by the book.”

"I love the book."

“The illustrations bring the story to life.”

"It’s a book of firsts by a first rate, first-time storyteller.”

“We are honored that the Allen County Libraryand the Fort Wayne Community Elementary Schools have chosen to place a copy of our bookin all of their libraries.”

"The book, Genois Wilson, Firefighter: She Dared to be First is now reaching the hands of the children it was written to inspire; and it is a book they are excited about and eager to read! What more could an author . . . an illustrator . . . and the inspiration for the book ask for? Many thanks to Aryanna, a young writer and future teacher, who took the time to share her thoughts:"
~ Carol Butler

Aryanna

Alayah

Following Footsteps: Aryanna and her little sister
dressed as firefighters.

Dear Grandma,
Thank you for making the book. And I don't really know what I want to be when I grow up because I'm changing my mind. My favorite part is what do you dare to dream? Also when Genois becomes a teacher and says that she wants to be a firefireghter instead and she taught the school children how to use a smoke detectors to save lives. I think this is a great book to inspire kids with their dreams.
Your grandaughter,
Lauren

“I remember her to
this day,” Yarbrough recalls. “She really took a genuine interest and
told me that…she would constantly say I’m a good artist I can do
something with it.”

Making art has always been part of Yarbrough’s life, even more so after
1991 when she started her own business ‘Heart and Soul: Originals and
Prints’. Working mostly on commission Yarbrough creates portraits,
usually from photographs people send her….her tool of choice an airbrush
rather than the usual paintbrush on canvas. The result is portraiture
with soft lines and piercing eyes.

Yarbrough paints animal portraits as well, she loves exotic animals. But
last year her art career made a sharp turn when she illustrated a
children’s book on Genois Wilson, Fort Wayne’s first female firefighter.
Working on a children’s book she says was a wonderful experience.

Author hopes book about Fort Wayne's first woman firefighter inspires children to achieve their goals
By Kevin Kilbane of The News-Sentinel
Friday, March 22, 2013

Carol Butler: Author

The inspiration for Carol Butler's first book came from a young woman Butler didn't know she had influenced years earlier.

Butler
hopes the book, “Genois Wilson, Firefighter: She Dared to be First” —
the story of the first woman firefighter on the Fort Wayne Fire
Department — inspires new generations of children to dream big and
overcome obstacles to achieve their goals.

A book reading by Carol Butler arranged by Demetria McDonald was provided to the Head Start class of Macon County, Georgia.

Mrs. Angela McDonald, FVSU's Macon County Head Start Family Advocate, accepted an autographed copy of the book for the library. The book was donated courtesy of Genois Wilson Brabson, the woman who dared to be first!

Fatma Martin suggested that Carol consider reading the book to the Kadena Elementary School children. Kadena ES is a DODEA school on a military base in Okinawa Japan.

Benjamin Ayres coordinated the reading and we employed Google Hangouts to implement the 7,300 mile connection.

Second and Third Grade classes enjoyed the half way around the world book reading by the author Carol Butler. It was the first time in Kadena Elementary School's history that they had an author "visit" them.

The school children enjoyed the book reading and had many questions for the author. They also shared what they "dared to dream."

The Response - 14 Individuals / Organizations met the challenge providing all of the funding in less than 30 days.

The author, Carol Butler, and the subject of the book, Genois Wilson Brabson were invited to meet with the children of Marcus Garvey Academy.

A full day of book readings, special safety presentations by Lt. Theresa Halsell from the Detroit Fire Department, and the honor of answering so many thoughtful questions from the very engaged student body was enjoyed by all.

The 70 books were presented to Dr. Deborah Winston, Executive Director Detroit Public Schools Office of Literacy, and Ms. Cheryl Bargon, Library Media Tech. They were most appreciative and are going to personally oversee the distribution of the books.

On July 14th Governor Mike Pence in conjunction with the 45th Annual Indiana Black Expo’s Summer Celebration & IBE Business Conference selected Genois Wilson Brabson as this year’s recipient of the Sam Jones Trailblazer Award at the Governor’s Reception held at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.

Jefferson Elementary School
Book Reading
March 12, 2015
Jefferson, Georgia

The visit to Jefferson Elementary School in Jefferson, GA was extra
special since I was born there. Thanks to Mary Burley, retired JES
kindergarten teacher (and my beautiful cousin!), Principal Annette
Beckwith, Media Center teacher Karen Coleman, and to the very attentive
100+ Pre-K students for making our visit so special!

SPECIAL THANKS: Thanks to all the Bank Street Bookstore friends who stopped by to hear the inspiring story of how Genois Wilson Brabson became the first woman firefighter in Fort Wayne, Indiana and one of the first women firefighters in the United States. Everyone seemed to enjoy hearing Carol Butler read the book and of course, the Seyfert potato chips were a huge and unexpected treat! We now know why the Bank Street Bookstore is "NY's Best Bookstore For & About Children!"

Elementary School Librarians from Fort Wayne Community Schools gathered on April 17th at Bunche Montessori School to select and review new books for their school's library. The book, Genois Wilson, Firefighter: She Dared to be First was selected as a new volume for each of the 34 schools. Teresa Yarbrough, Genois Wilson, and Carol Butler met with the librarians and Condra Ridley read the book to 81 Bunche Kindergartners and to the librarians.

Quotable Quote"I thought it was going to be
another history textbook but it had a really good story line!" : A comment from one of the most talented,
smart, confident kids I have ever met. ~ Carol Butler.